The Greatness You Are
by staceybabe
Summary: [Miracle] The story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, from the very first shot to the ending ceremonies. Here are the events told from the perspective of Herb Brook's niece, Grace, who comes along for the ride...
1. Prologue

**The Greatness You Are**

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING (except Grace and the occasional outside character).

Summary: The story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, from the very first shot taken to the ending ceremonies. Here are the events told from the perspective of a young woman, Grace, who came along for the ride.

Author's Note: Sorry but yes, I'm probably going to be a little slow on the updates. Sorry I'm a busy girl, what can I say?

_All the lights on and you are alive,  
__But you can't point the way to your heart.  
__So sublime, when the stars are aligned,  
__But you don't know, you don't know  
__The greatness you are. 1_

The arena suddenly began to slowly light up. A young man stood on the ice idly pushing a hockey puck around with his stick. He was dressed in street clothes but stood silent and alone. Suddenly, a pair of arms seemed to rush around him and he felt a weight pushing on his back. The hands that had before grabbed his shoulders with intensity now carefully reached up and covered his eyes. He could see through the small and dainty pair of hands and heard the person behind him let out a suppressed giggle. He smiled to himself, thinking of who was connected to the pair of hands. All at once, he turned and grabbed the unsuspecting person behind him and began mercilessly tickling them, causing both of them to fall onto the ice. A screech rang out in the empty arena and finally a voice broke through the laughter.

Looking into his eyes, she was pleading him to stop while tears of laughter continued to run down her cheeks. He looked at her carefully, blonde hair disheveled and unruly, her bright blue eyes shining mischievously back at him. He chuckled to himself and finally let go his grasp on her, helping her up and into his warm and welcoming arms. A grin still tugged shamelessly at the pair's lips as they parted.

She smirked at her best friend playfully as he began tugging her arm urging her further out onto the ice. She complied with his pushing and pulling and was soon standing alongside him in the middle of the hockey rink. Looking around and examining the building, it never ceased to amaze her, at how it always seemed to send chills down her spine no matter how many times she had been inside it before.

As the two stood on the ice in silence, he took her wrist and began pulling her around the ice watching her as she released his hand and glided gracefully around him. Even in her sneakers, somewhat stumbling around on the ice, she looked like perfection. His eyes shone brightly as she stumbled and tripped falling into his arms, almost knocking him down. She looked up at the young man holding her in his arms and brushed a stray strand of hair from his face. He pulled away from her gently, letting her regain balance and shifted slightly from one foot to the other. As he started leading her away from the ice, she took one last look back, savoring everything from the smell to the feel of the ice under her feet. With a final glance, she intertwined her arm with the man beside her and strode happily with him from the ice and into the clear air outside.

**--**

Outside it was clear and sunny, not unusual for a Saturday afternoon. The air was fresh and tangled with her mood making her smile up to the warm sun. The man walking next to her seemed unaware of her thoughts, looking busy with ones of his own. In the light of the day, his hair looked delicate and soft, his commonly tough looking demeanor softened for her.

They walked in silence over to her car and she gave him a final hug and he kissed her forehead gently before he too climbed in on the passenger side. They drove away, leaving a wake of restless dirt in their path, unaware of what was to come, unconcerned with their feelings, carelessly throwing them to the guiltless wind. It was a beautiful day to be alive.

1._ Blue Eyes_ by Cary Brothers

**A/N: Well this is the first chapter of my first fan fiction piece. I hope you liked it. Sorry if it was a little slow, I promise it'll get more exciting later. I'm not sure yet who the main romantic interest in this story is yet (I'm still trying to decided between a few of them), but he's going to be one of the Minnesota boys, so give me your feedback!**


	2. State of Grace

**The Greatness You Are**

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING (except Grace and the occasional outside character). 

Author's Note: Ok so I looked over all my reviews from the first chapter and I was really excited so I tried to update really soon. I still don't know who I'm going to have as the main guy in this story, but it won't be revealed until later, so I'll just see how it goes. In this chapter you'll find out who the mystery man from the first chapter is. It's longer than my first and kind of clears a few things up. Enjoy!

**Thanks so much to all of my reviewers!  
**_Kalibelle:_ Thanks so much for your review! I know what you mean. The Minnesotan guys always lose their girls to a Boston boy. I love them all but I think it's time for one of the Minnesotan guys to end up with the girl. I hope you update your Miracle fan fiction soon!  
_Meadow567:_ Thanks! You'll find out who the mystery guy is in this chapter! Oh, and I loved your story with Marie and Silky! I hope you write another one soon! Keep reviewing!  
_TJ6:_ I'm so glad you're anxious for more! Hmm…the main guy is still undecided for the story, so thanks for your suggestion. I hope you update _Miracle Men_ soon! Thanks for reviewing!

_My baby got sauce  
Your baby ain't** sweet** like mine  
My baby's got sauce  
__Your baby ain't **sweet** like mine  
__She got sauce... 1_

By the time the car creaked up into the Brooks' family driveway, it was considerably less sunny and had grown colder. As Grace ran up the steps to the house she pulled her light sweater more closely around her in order to keep the cold from coming in. After picking up Mike Ramsey, her best friend from the hockey rink, they had stayed together the entire afternoon, laughing and talking through both lunch and dinner. Now she was just getting back to her uncle and aunt's house hopefully in time for their planned costume party for the evening.

Looking up at the house quickly, she was suddenly laden with memories of when she first came to Minnesota, at the request of her father. He had wanted her to attend his Alma Mater and had pushed her out of the house to live with his brother Herb her sophomore year of high school. She missed both her parents, as well as New York, the place she continued to call home even though she had been living in the Nordic region for well over three years. Even now she could still remember the events of the night her father asked if she would stay with the Brooks' two years before college…

"_Hey Gracie honey, can you come talk with your mother and I for a second in the study?" Her father had sweetened his voice considerably, much different from his tone during the day when he mingled with business clients, and talked with her._

_Walking into the study, she found the fireplace lit, the embers slowly crackling and her father sitting in his favorite leather chair, her mother perched lightly on the piece of furniture's arm. Her father had a piece of paper in his fingers, which was being passed from one hand to the other. Grace gave both parents a questioning look before her father began to speak._

"_Well sweetie as you already know, in two years, after you graduate we've already made plans on you going to UM for college." At Grace's slight and unenthusiastic nod her father continued with his speech. "Anyways, we were thinking Gracie, that you could go there this year."_

_Grace looked started for a minute, which soon changed to confusion. "Dad, what are you talking about? I'm only fifteen how am I going to college?"_

_Her father looked puzzled, then as realization dawned on his face he let out a light chuckle, her mother also taking part. "Honey, I don't mean go to college this year. What I meant, is that since you'll be going there I think you should start to get a feel for the place early so it won't be as nerve wracking when you attend the U after senior year. Your Aunt Patti and Uncle Herb already agreed to take you in. It'll give you a chance to make friends, try…"_

_He was cut off as Grace suddenly stormed out of the room. She knew this was a non-negotiable subject and wasn't going to even bother arguing. Her father had always gotten his way around the house, his business, everything. He was so obsessed with her going to UM he didn't even care about her feelings. He wanted this for himself, and she could see right through his false façade of pretending to care. Her father had been worried from day one that she may not be able to get into the U and had done everything to try to make her look more appealing to the college since she was practically in diapers. This was probably just another step in his plan, meaning for her "suck ass time"._

_Over the next month, Grace found herself saying good bye to friends and within the few short weeks she was packed and ready to meet her aunt and uncle, along with her two cousins in Minnesota. Arriving at the airport exactly a month later from when her father had first told her of his plans, she met her Minnesotan family, and slowly began to pick up the pieces of her lost life._

Of course when she moved to Minnesota, it wasn't exactly the end of her life. She continued to see her family on holidays and flew up some weekends to visit them. When she thought about it, the Brooks' seemed to be more her family then her parents. Her visits to her old house were strained and restless, and as the years drew on they became less frequent. She was now almost ready to begin her sophomore year in college, making her stay in Minnesota three years. Although she still called her parent's pent house in New York City her home, Minnesota had always been more of a home to her. Grace's best friends were here, her life was here.

Pushing her memories aside, Grace hurriedly walked up the rest of the driveway and onto the porch.

**--**

Slightly opening the door and seeing no costume-clad partiers she strode confidently into the house, the light ambiance of the light picking up the rosy tint in her cheeks that only comes from being out in the cold. As she was about to walk upstairs, she heard someone call her name and turned to see that it was her Aunt Patti, trailed by a perturbed looking Herb Brooks.

"Gracie, honey after you finish getting ready for tonight can you come back down here and help me set up some of the hors d'oeuvres? I really can't wait to see you in your costume." Her aunt winked at her, managing to conceal the small gesture from Herb who would no doubt be in his study for most of the party. Grace had gone out to the mall the week before and picked out a risqué flapper's outfit from the '20s. If Herb had seen the outfit, he would have surely not approved. Glancing at her, he had visibly cringed at the word "costume" and Grace gave a slight laugh before replying to her aunt.

"Sure Aunt Patti. I really hope you know who likes my costume as much as you do." Still unable to wipe the smirk off her face, her aunt gave a satisfied nod and turned on her heel walking away, leaving a very flustered Herb standing in the middle of the hallway, looking lost. As Grace walked up the stairs, she struggled to suppress a chuckle, fighting a losing battle all the way up until she reached her room.

**--**

After changing into the outfit, Grace turned around and surveyed herself in her full length mirror. She examined her hair, which was wild as usual, large curls everywhere. It would not stay any way she put it, and was the focus of many of her pissed off moods. Her body was slim and curvy at the same time, and could have maybe been passed off as being a model if it was not for her height of 5'5. Her skin looked somewhat pale in the light of the room, but her cheeks were rosy with enthusiasm. Her lips, curved into a slight smile were a little too full for her liking, but she wouldn't be herself without them. All in all, she was pretty average looking, except for her eyes. They would hold your attention and not let go. At the moment, they shone brightly their stormy blue color hiding infinite ranges of emotions.

Still checking out her outfit, she heard someone call her downstairs and knew instantly that it was her aunt, no doubt needing help with the catering piece of her party. Arriving downstairs, she easily found her aunt, who bubbled with eagerness in anticipation for the night to come. As she walked up to Grace she looked at her from head to toe, and gave her an approving smile.

"Hmm, darling I must say, you manage to pull off that flapper look all too well." Patti smiled at her comment looking expectantly at Grace for her response.

"And you, Aunt Patti, pull off the hot mom look quite well." Gracie listened as her aunt tried to shrug off the remark, but she could see her blushing as she turned around to hide her face from her niece's eyes.

Grace took that as a sign to stop talking but she couldn't help from letting a wicked grin grace her features. Her aunt gazed around the kitchen expectantly, and Grace knew exactly what it was she was searching for. Herb. He had never been a party-goer, or thrower and usually made himself scarce when Patti held these types of things in their home. Her aunt was accustomed to it by now, but every so often she let her eyes drift around hoping that her husband would attempt to come downstairs and mingle for a while.

**--**

Less than an hour later, Grace found herself in the middle of a crowded room talking with her aunt and uncle's friends. _Danny and Kelly were lucky_, she thought to herself. They never had to attend these things because they were adult-only. Unfortunately that meant her. She was envious.

With nothing better to do, Grace set the tray on a table and ducked out of the dining room, running upstairs into Herb's office and shutting the door loudly. She could see a figure sitting but not facing her in a chair, and she knew immediately that it was her uncle. Resting her head against the wall as Herb slowly got up from the chair and turned towards her, a satisfied yet tight smile on his face, her head made contact with something hard. Looking up she could see it was a picture of one of the hockey teams her uncle had coached. He was a proud man and loved nothing more than hockey. Although in the picture he looked dull and uninviting she knew just how intense he could be.

A voice interrupted her dazed thoughts and she turned her full attention toward it.

"…So I thought that since I got the job, you could maybe…" Herb never even got the chance to finish his sentence. In a heart beat he was enveloped in a hug from Grace and his ears were ringing from her loud shrieks of excitedness. He began to feel dizzy as she bounced up and down hardly able to sit still. She was always too full of energy. Herb tried to cover his ears and at the same time grasped Grace's shoulders trying to firmly make her stop bouncing up and down so he could finish what he was saying.

"As I was saying", he started up again, "I thought that maybe you could take the year off from school to do this…" He was unable to finish once again, as Grace's screams drowned out the party downstairs and all other noise around the house. After she finished screeching, Herb winced and looked around the room, convinced that she had broken the sound barrier.

Grace let out a final shriek and hugged her uncle tightly. He knew that she would have said yes to his offer to help with the team. He had previously discussed it with her after he had gone in for his interview with Walter Brooks and she had seemed quite enthusiastic about the idea of being team manager. He also suspected that she was delighted with the idea of spending the whole nine months hanging out with twenty young men rather than attending school.

Although she joked about doing it to meet new boys, Herb knew that she would really be in it for the hockey. She loved it almost as much as he did, and he remembered how she used to stay up late with him on week nights and they would watch the college and NHL games together. By now she was like a daughter to him, and he was pleased with the fact that she would agree so readily to the position of team manager. He knew he would be able to bounce his ideas off her and she would always give him her honest opinion.

A hand waving in front of his face brought Herb out of his deep thoughts as he looked down at his niece sincerely. He knew she would be with him all the way on this. She was always with him season after season for his coaching at the U, and he knew this would be no different. The next two months before try-outs were going to go by fast.

1. _Baby's Got Sauce_ by G.Love & Special Sauce

**A/N: Ok well this was the second chapter. I hope you liked it. I guess I was able to update sooner than I thought, mostly because I got so excited about all of the reviews I was getting. I don't know if Grace is going to end up with her best friend or another one of the guys. Tell me what you think!The nedt chapter will have more scenes with Grace and some of the Minnesotan hockey boysI know you all love! The next update will hopefully be soon. Keep reviewing!**


	3. Gracie and Rammer

**The Greatness You Are**

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING (except Grace and the occasional outside character).

Author's Note: Alright kids. So I'm pretty proud of myself for getting this out so soon. I guess I'm just in a really inspirational mood lately. This chapter's about Grace and Rammer's relationship, not romantic, but as best friends, before the Olympics. The main romantic interest of Grace is still open for debate if anyone has any suggestions! Oh yeah, and she's the same age as Rammer, which I believe is 19, when try-outs being. And this one's long people so settle in and read up!

**Thanks so much to all of my reviewers!  
**_Lia06:_ Thanks for your review! I'm glad you're interested in the story!  
_Evelynsgrave84:_ Aww, I'm so glad you like it so much. You're so sweet! All of these nice reviews make me want to update more often!  
_Meadow567:_ I'm really glad you like Mike Ramsey. There really are like no stories about him so I decided it would be easy to develop him into my own character. I'm also happy that you like how she's younger than some of the other guys. Keep up the reviews!  
_Maigain:_ I definitely agree with you. Mark Johnson is so cute. I'm still accepting comments about who Grace should end up with so thanks for the suggestion. If I don't do this story on him, I'm thinking about doing a one-shot with him in it anyways. Thanks for reviewing!  
_TJ6:_ Haha I forgive you for forgetting about Rammer. He's one of the quiet ones. I'm really glad you adore him. I'm still not sure if Grace is going to end up with him or not, but it is a big possibility. Keep reviewing!

_Maybe I just want to fly  
I want to live I don't want to die  
Maybe I just want to breath  
Maybe I just don't believe  
Maybe you're the same as me  
We see things they'll never see  
You and I, we're gonna live forever…1_

Time stood still as he waited outside her house. This had been their routine for what seemed like forever, which was actually three years since they had first met. She always kept him waiting. They would plan to go hang out and he would get to her house right on time, and would wait at least an hour for her to come downstairs. So this time, he decided to wait outside in the fresh air. Even though he loved spending time with her, Rammer also loved the feeling of the anticipation of her arrival. Her entrances never ceased to be thrilling for him, _well in a friend sort of way_, he thought.

He took a deep breath as the door to the Brooks' house slowly opened, revealing his best friend dressed in a pair of ripped jeans and a pink polo top, with the collar slightly popped up. The bottom of her shirt didn't quite reach the hem of her pants, showing off part of her stomach. On her feet she wore a pair of green flip flops, which was her daily ensemble during the spring months. (**A/N:** Sorry guys but I'm not really sure about the fashion back then so I'm just going to go with whatever I think of). He waited by his car as she smoothly raced down the steps of her house, well sort of, with her sandals clapping all the way, and over to where he waited, leaning against his car with outstretched arms. As she went to give him a big bear hug, he remembered their first meeting, which was not so subtle, but was definitely reflective of her wild and sometimes random personality.

**--**

_It was the summer before his junior year in high school, and also a Saturday morning. Rammer slowly walked down the stairs. It was 4:30 a.m. and he didn't want to wake the rest of the house up, causing his family to suffer along with him due to his early hockey practices during the weekends. That unfortunately seemed inevitable as he tripped over an object discarded carelessly on one of the steps and fell, his large hockey bag tumbling down the stairs and knocking over the coat rack at the bottom, with him following suit._

_Damn._

_From that point on the day only got worse. His dad came down yelling at him for being clumsy, his leg hurt from his earlier fall, his car broke down almost two miles away from the hockey arena forcing him to walk the rest of the way and later calling a tow truck, Herb was mad because he was late, and he had to do nearly an hour's worth of sprints on the ice after practice ended by himself as Herb timed and scolded him._

_By the time he was ready to go home, it was noon and he was waiting on one of the rows of bleachers for Herb to lecture him about being punctual, and most likely how he had hurt his team with his late arrival. As he was sitting silently in his seat, Rammer continuously dozed off, finally letting some form of a restless sleep take him. The next thing he heard somewhat startled him, but as his senses came back to him he began to openly stare._

_He saw someone driving the Zamboni around the ice, making wild circles and patterns, along with sharp turns sending the machine into treacherous positions. He watched and he could hear the person on the machine laughing, obviously female he had thought to himself as her light laughter floated over to his ears. Out of nowhere, three men ran and stumbled across the ice yelling words, incoherent to him at the girl on the large machine, she obviously not knowing they were there over the roar of the engine and nearly barreling one of the men down as he narrowly escaped._

_Finally, after a great deal of effort, one of the men managed to flag her down and she shut off the machine looking expectantly towards him, and for the first time noting that there was more than one man. He muttered a few words to her, which were too soft for Rammer to hear, but the look on her face didn't escape his eyes as he saw her give them a dramatic eye roll and hopped off the machine. He heard a noise behind him, and looked back to see an angry Herb marching down the stairs to the young woman who had been driving the machine haphazardly around the ice._

_Rammer seemed to be forgotten as he watched his coach scold her for her behavior._

"_Look, Grace I told you, you could recoat the ice, but I didn't say like that. That was dangerous and you could've gotten hurt. Not to mention the…"_

"_Fine, sorry Uncle Herb." The girl looked deeply into Herb's face and gave a genuinely innocent look. She tugged nervously at the ends of her golden hair, causing her curls to bounce up and down freely. Her sapphire eyes were clouded with doubt as she looked around the arena casually but obviously avoiding eye contact. Her locks swayed delicately against her shoulders as she turned her head looking at the ground waiting for her uncle to say something back._

_Herb, looking exhausted and on edge seemed to accept the simple apology and turned his rage toward Rammer, who was sitting in a daze in one of the seats. Noticing that his coach was staring directly towards him, he sat up a little straighter, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes and prepared himself for a lecture from Herb. As Coach Brooks walked over, Rammer watched with intrigue as the girl in front of him sat down on one of the seats with a stormy expression written all over her features._

"_So Rammer, you were late to practice today. You let your team down and were also unprepared."_

"_Sorry coach, but my car broke down and I had to…" Rammer trailed off noticing that Herb had turned his attention towards the young woman sitting further down the bleachers, worry marring his face. She wasn't facing them, so she didn't notice the intensity of their looks. Herb looked back at Rammer and simply stated,_

"_Don't be late again Rammer." And walked out of the arena. His voice held a dangerous tone, but he looked weary, and did not continue any further. The girl continued to sit, legs curled up under her staring out into nowhere. She suddenly turned to look Rammer straight in the eye, her blue ones making contact with his chocolate brown ones. She examined him closely, as he seemed to be doing the same to her. He looked tired from a long practice and she could see his well muscled shoulders from under his shirt. He looked a little rough around the edges but appeared to be friendly with smooth, curly hair, which was just as unruly as hers._

_As she studied him, he watched her. Her eyes shone with intensity and her lips had a small pout to them, as she seemed to be thinking. Her hair looked silky to the touch, curly, but large curls rather than small ringlets. Her head was cocked to one side as if debating something and all at once she was next to him with a large smile on her face, introducing herself._

"_Hi I'm Grace." She watched him expectantly, biting her bottom lip as he was shaken from his stupor at her boldness and held out his hand in greeting._

"_Umm, Mike Ramsey. Uhh, Rammer." His deep voice echoed against the walls of the arena and Grace looked at him oddly for a second, ignoring his attempt at a hand shake, and instead entwining her arm with his and leading him out of the hockey arena, talking all the way._

**--**

Feeling a small hand snake into his pocket, Rammer looked down to see Grace, or Gracie as he affectionately called her apparently impatient with him and fishing around for his keys. He smiled down at her before digging into his back pocket and opening the door to the passenger's side for her. She gave a small whine but reluctantly got in the car. She had always loved to drive, but unfortunately for her, so did he.

In the car, Rammer put the top down and smiled wickedly as Grace screamed while her hair waved all over her face nearly blinding her.

"Jerk. You could've warned me." He laughed at her comment and she shoved him lightly in the shoulder, a playful smirk appearing on her face. He quickly glanced back at the road swerving as he narrowly missed hitting a cat. The next time he looked over at her, she had a pair of movie star glasses on and she was giving him a royal wave and beaming. The memory sent him back to thinking of when he took her to hang out at his beach cottage by the lake for a week during the summer.

**--**

_As she stepped out of the car with Rammer's help, she looked like she stepped right out of a magazine. Although wearing not so nice clothes for the occasion, she still looked gorgeous with her large pair of sunglasses perched precariously on top of her head and a light smile touching her lips._

_It had been great and sunny for a large portion of the time at his cottage, with his family, but on the last day it had rained buckets. The whole day they had played cards inside and listened and danced to songs on the radio. They discussed old hockey games and even upcoming ones. Rammer had always been an exceptional player for his age, and was commonly the youngest on his varsity teams. This was one of the things that amazed Grace about her friend. He continued to act casual and ordinary when to everyone else and herself, was so incomparable and special._

_The thing he remembered most about their stay at his family's cottage had not been the fun days they had spent swimming, hiking, and out on the lake, but the night before their departure, when it wouldn't stop raining. They sat in the sun room watching the rain fall down, the soft lull of raindrops against the window making them both drowsy. They sat in silence for the longest time, on the couch. Her head was propped up against his big chest and his head was lazily perched up against the wall. She listened to his heart beat, while he concentrated on the methodical sounds of her breathing._

_It could have been minutes, or even hours later, but Rammer looked down to see a sleeping Grace gently cradled in his arms. He smiled to himself and tenderly kissed her on her forehead, both of her hands in his as he lightly stroked her palms. She looked so at peace when she slept, which was a sharp contrast from her usual over-the-top energy. Her hair tickled his neck and her lips were curved in the smallest hint of a smile. This was when he had first realized that he loved her. Not the sort of love where you're in love with the person, he just loved her. It was as simple and as complicated as that. She was his best friend and he thought the world of her._

When Rammer thought of Grace, he had often looked back on that one time, reminiscing about his second love. He had first fallen in love with hockey, and then it was Grace. His Gracie. He loved her, and she him. Not in love, but it was love. It was unconditional, but it was not the same thing as true love, it sent butterflies in his stomach and shivers down his spine but he had never fallen for her, or she for him. They weren't dating; they never had, or wanted to. They were just best friends. Not everybody they came across could understand that simple fact, but Rammer had soon learned to brush off the comments as easily as Grace was able to.

**--**

Now, as he pulled into the parking lot, Grace got hopped easily out of the car without opening the door as he came to a stop. He chuckled and got out of the drivers side stretching alongside his friend. He reached in the backseat of the car and grabbed their bags as they headed over towards the swimming pool area.

As they began walking to their destination, Rammer could hear Gracie's loud footsteps as she attempted to surprise him and jump on his back. Her sandals unfortunately gave away her position, and as she was about to leap onto is back, Rammer suddenly turned around and scooped her up onto his shoulder, ass in the air and her legs swinging freely in front of him. She screamed as he picked her bag up from the ground and playfully hit him on the back. He finally put her down once they reached the pool area and they looked around for a place to sit.

Rammer spotted two empty beach chairs and they made a beeline in that direction. Grace giggled lightly as Rammer not so gracefully tried to set his bag down, dropping it in the process, his clothing and towel spilling all over the wet surface of the pool area. She bent down to help him pick his clothes up, and at the same moment Rammer noticed a few male heads turning to look in her direction. He returned their stares with a glower and thanked Grace as she stood up straight and pulled off her shirt and pants revealing her two-piece bathing suit. Now, a few more heads turned and Rammer glared over Grace's shoulders at the men hungrily looking at his best friend. This moment brought him back to images of his first real fight, but certainly not the last…

**--**

_Rammer had never been a fighting type of person. He wouldn't run from a fight, but he didn't use it as his first solution in solving a problem. Everyone knew he was tough and although challenged to fight a few times, never himself initiated the event. That was until he became best friends with Grace. She was constantly getting looked at and hit on by members of the male sex, along with unwanted stares and comments. Rammer usually managed to ignore most of the gestures and actions, but during one of his hockey games, there was one guy who pushed his patience over the edge, and of course it had resulted badly._

_Grace was always involved with her Uncle Herb's hockey teams, and often traveled with them when they went away. She always had a reserved seat next to her uncle while he coached, so she could watch the team in action. Sitting on the bench was obviously more thrilling than sitting in the stands watching from afar. Grace had loved being given the opportunity to be able to witness games so closely, getting to meet the boys from the other teams, as well as supporting her own boys._

_Near the beginning of the hockey season of her and Rammer's junior year, it was the team's first away game and everyone was pumped up and excited. While her uncle was in the boys' locker room giving one of his before-game speeches, Grace sat on the bench waiting for the game to commence. She watched idly as the opposing team skated around on the ice and one or two heads turned her way. Just as she was about to look the other way, she saw a shadow appear over her and looked up into the face of the forward from the other team. He winked at her then leaned over the side._

"_Hey baby, wanna give me a good luck kiss before I go out to play tonight?" He had a cocky grin plastered on his face as he looked down at her, not making contact with her eyes, but rather other parts of her body, making her squirm under his stare._

"_Umm, no." She said it quietly and sounded uncertain. What was wrong with her? Why hadn't she just plainly told him to "fuck off"? Her uncertainty towards the question only fueled the hockey player more as he skated even closer to Grace eying her greedily._

_As he was about to open his mouth to reply, Herb walked up behind her and glared at the boy she had just been talking to. Grace stole a glance upward and noticed Rammer had just come on to the ice, and from the look on his face he had seen the whole encounter as well. The forward backed up and skated back onto the ice as her uncle's team warmed up. Throughout numerous other parts of the game, he would skate lazily by her, not seeming to care that his team was down by at least three goals during the whole game. Rammer had taken notice to this, and as he passed the guy while he was lining up for possession of the puck, he growled,_

"_Stay away from her." It was quiet and laced with anger, but the other guy, not seeming to take the hint grinned at Grace, then looking back at Rammer and saying a few obscenities about his best friend. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the puck not even having been dropped to signal the beginning of the third quarter, Rammer dropped his gloves and rushed into the sleazy guy across from him. Grace gasped, Herb looked pissed, and the rest of the team just stared on in awe. Rammer never let his emotions get the better of him, and here he was tumbling around on the ice, and still no one really knew why._

_Pretty soon, his team had come back to their senses and had stopped him, but he was thrown out of the rest of the game and put into the penalty box. Herb had told him that he would speak with him once they returned home from the game, and his team went on to win 6-3._

_As Grace was walking out of the arena with her uncle and the team, she could see two indistinct figures moving around to her left and on closer examination came to discover that one of them was in fact, Rammer. She was surprised when he had started a fight during the game, but even more surprised at this. Now, as Rammer was sitting on some guy's stomach the boys rushed over to pull him off the other bleeding hockey player. They grabbed his arms and pulled him back, at first to no effect, but they finally managed to fully pull him off while the guy under him, the forward from earlier Grace had noticed, retreated quickly back into the building._

_Looking back on the fight now, Rammer thought it was stupid and pointless. He had received a minor in-school suspension for the fight and Herb had benched him for their next away game. Although not showing it in front of her uncle, Grace had been grateful for what Rammer had done and showed him her gratitude by attempting to get him back into Herb's good graces. She had helped him clean up after the fight, tending to his black eye and cut on his lip. It was a stupid fight, but it brought them closer together, and Grace knew that she could count on him to protect her. Since then, he had never failed, always defending his friend's honor and making sure she was constantly safe._

**--**

"C'mon Rammer get in!" He looked around to see where the voice was coming from and saw Gracie treading in the water. He jumped into the pool and floated over to her giving her a quick hug, more for his comfort than hers.

"What's this for?" Grace looked at him with confusion on her face, but at the same time returned his hug while sinking into his arms. She bit her bottom lip looking on with perplexity. He took his thumb and moved to pull her lip out from under the grasp of her teeth. Rammer shrugged.

"Nothing." With that, Rammer dove under the water and came up behind her, grabbing her legs. From underwater he could hear her screeches of protest, as he playfully lifted her up and dunked her back into the shimmering water.

From an outsider's perspective, the pair in the water looked like a young, cute couple. No one really stopped to think twice about it. No matter what others might have thought, Rammer and Grace really didn't care. They were best friends, and that was all. It was them against the world, and they didn't care.

1. _Live Forever_ by Oasis

**A/N: So this chapter and probably the next one are about how Grace kind of came to Minnesota and met Robbie, Rammer, Buzz, and some of the other guys. They take place in the months before the Olympics, but include flash backs on their times together. Tell me if you liked the parts about their friendship flashbacks, like how they met, etc. because I'm thinking of including more of it in future chapters. The next chapter will have more of Grace's feelings than just Rammer's. The fifth chapter will probably be the beginning of try-outs and I'll hopefully be there by next week.**


	4. Those Minnesotan Boys

**The Greatness You Are**

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING (except Grace and the occasional outside character).

Author's Note: Ok, well this is the last installment of the chapters that take place before try-outs. This chapter's about how Grace came to know the other Minnesotan boys. For my purposes, Robbie and Buzzy are going to be younger, or closer to the ages of Grace and Rammer who are 19 when the movie begins. At the time they meet, Grace and Rammer are juniors in high school, Robbie is 19, and Buzzy is 21. They already know Rammer, but meet Grace through one of her uncle's hockey teams, which Rammer is a part of. So with that said, read up and enjoy!

**Thanks so much to all of my reviewers!  
**_TJ6:_ I'm really glad that you like the flashbacks. They were fun to write and this chapter's filled with them too! Thanks for reviewing!**  
**_Meadow567:_ Thanks, I'll remember the zamboni for the future. I'm really glad you like Rammer and Grace's friendship. Its platonic love right now, and it could be for the rest of the story, or it might change. I still haven't decided. It's good that you like the flashbacks because I love writing them! Lol thanks for the great review!  
_Killerkeanegirl_: Thanks for the great review! Oh, we'll see what happens with Rammer and Grace ;-) Haha keep reviewing!

_Stay up and make some memories here  
With us now  
To roll red carpet out with friends  
To love and roll on  
Our love is so right  
I won't waste a minute here tonight  
Our love is so right  
And tonight my dance is all about you 1_

Grace suddenly awoke as she felt a warm pair of arms envelope her in a drunken stupor. Turning her head slowly to the right, she saw Robbie McClanahan, arms draped around her waist mumbling incoherent thoughts as he slept through his drunken daze. She looked over, and sitting on her other side was Buzzy Schneider. He was also sleeping, head leaning all the way back against the top of the large sofa, snoring softly while giving off the occasional grunt. Rammer was in a chair across from the couch, having passed out a while ago. His legs and arms spread out everywhere, looking comical as he was too big for the rather large chair. He looked so peaceful when he slept, they all did, even after playing round after round of beer pong and "I never", they still looked like they were in a natural sleep, rather than one fazed by alcohol. They would all be feeling this in the morning. Holding her head in her hands, Grace felt her pounding headache already, which would soon become the start of a hang-over.

She looked over at the boys; her boys, strewn all around the room, and gave a small, tired smile at the sight of them. They had just come back from a college party and had relocated to Robbie's basement, which always seemed to be their weekend ritual. Whenever she saw them like this, it always reminded her of their first meeting. They weren't exactly passed out…yet, but just the thought of getting drunk at a party brought back memories. They were all at a party…

**--**

_Gripping the cloth harder in her hands, Grace held on with all her might. She was afraid of falling straight off the roof and making a huge scene, not to mention possibly breaking her neck. It was 1 a.m. and she was sneaking out to go with Rammer to a college party he had been invited to by some of the boys on his hockey team. The team he played for while it was out of season in school, consisted of college players from the UM, with Herb Brooks as their coach._

_She looked down. She was almost all the way to the ground. Rammer had told her about the party last night, and although he was hesitant to go, through much begging and persuasion, she convinced him to invite her to go along with him. At this point, Grace wasn't allowed to converse with the college hockey players, Herb not wanting her to distract his players, or possibly get involved with them. But to Grace, that was just Herb's nice way of saying he didn't trust her to keep her hands to herself. Grace was always up for trying new things, and at 16, a college party sounded like a good way to go. Now she saw Rammer, standing under her, holding the sheet steady as she made her descent. Grace was wearing a short skirt, so he tried not to look up, but as a concerned friend he tried to keep an eye on her at the same time._

_Finally making her way down on the ground, Grace erupted in giggles and Rammer covered her mouth with his hand making sure no one could catch them sneaking out. It seemed like whenever they were trying to do something without getting caught, Grace always found everything funny. They hurriedly scrambled towards the car and once inside, Rammer surveyed her outfit for the night._

"_Where are your clothes?" Rammer was not pleased with what she was wearing, worried that his drunken, and even non-drunk hockey team would find her all too appealing in the state of dress she was currently in._

"_Umm, I'm wearing them…" What nerve. Grace looked down at her short skirt that ran about mid-thigh, and halter top, bearing a large portion of her stomach. Ok, so maybe she'd overdone it a little bit, but how bad could it be? She glanced over at Rammer who was wearing a regular pair of jeans and a button-up shirt. Suddenly, a jacket was being shoved in her face and she saw Rammer holding it out to her._

"_Here, put this on. You don't want all those guys to be looking at you in that." He looked almost bashful and refused to make eye contact with her, looking instead at his hands which rested neatly in his lap. Grace rolled her eyes and reluctantly took the jacket setting it neatly in her lap._

"_Ok, thanks dad." Rammer looked at her expectantly, probably assuming that she would put it on, but she just held it and stared out the window in to the night sky. He gave a short sigh and started the car up, wanting to get to the party and then leave quickly. Unfortunately for Rammer, Grace had other plans._

_They walked into the house where the party was being held. It was a frat party. Some of the guys from the hockey team were a part of the fraternity and wanted a good turn out, so it seemed as though the whole campus was there. Gazing around the room, there were kegs of beer lined up against one wall and couples groping each other on every other possible surface. Rammer turned to say something to Grace along the lines of "Let's get out of here.", but looking to his left, no one was there. Suddenly feeling panic stricken, Rammer walked around the room trying to find her. He pushed through a crowd of people into another room and finally laid his eyes on her._

_She was talking animatedly to some guy who was staring at her chest, which she didn't seem to notice or care about, and she was being securely held against his side in his arms. The guy was clearly drunk, and Grace with a beer in her hand, was probably well on her way there too. He whispered something in her ear, and she seemed to agree nodding her head slightly giggling softly. A twinge of jealousy rose up from the pit of Rammer's stomach and just as he was about to walk over to Grace, he saw Robbie and Buzzy heading his way. They made slight conversation, but it ended quickly when Rammer saw that same guy from earlier leading Grace upstairs._

_As she walked upstairs, she actually had wanted to leave the party all together. Grace couldn't find Rammer through the crowd though, and this guy had been holding her side almost painfully tight. Scanning the room, she finally laid her eyes on Rammer. And he looked mad. He was pushing through the crowd, with two other guys following behind him. His fists were clenched, his jaw was set tightly and he had the angriest of expressions on his face. Something had spilled on his jeans and the cuffs from his shirt were rolled up to his elbows. He looked like he was ready to start a fight._

_He finally reached Grace just as the guy holding on to her was leading her into a separate room at the top of the stairs. Rammer had grabbed her side and yanked her away from the other guy. He did it gently enough so as not to hurt Grace, but soundly enough to send a message to the guy that she, or he was not to be messed with. The two guys behind Rammer looked confused but glared along with him at the man currently refusing to let go of Grace's waist. They had helped Rammer in apprehending her and taking away her current source of discomfort, which happened to be the guy who had just been shoved down the stairs by Rammer. This was when she had first met Robbie and Buzzy, who had in fact been the two guys with Rammer._

The next morning Grace woke up with a pounding headache in someone else's bed. On one side, she saw Rammer and on the other was Robbie. At the foot of the bed sleeping soundly on the floor was Buzzy. This was how it came to be for the rest of their friendship. They were inseparable.

**--**

Now as Grace walked upstairs from Robbie's basement, she looked through the window to see the first streams of sunlight glaring through the window. She smiled. It was already morning. Scuffling around the McClanahan's kitchen which she had come to know well in the past few years; Grace poured herself a glass of water and headed back downstairs. She could hear sirens in the distance, bringing back one of her not so fond memories that the four had previously shared, but it was nonetheless part of their history together, and she eventually learned to embrace the memory and laugh about it with her three best friends.

**--**

_It had seemed so right at the time they decided to do it, but it turned out to be so very wrong. Grace, and probably all of the boys surrounding her had most likely never thought they'd end up here…In jail. Apparently defacing public property for fun wasn't considered completely legal and it had sent them into a holding cell for the night. She had been scared out of her mind…_

_There had been absolutely nothing to do around the house. Three out of the four could not legally drink alcohol so bar hopping was out of the question, although let's face it; they all had before. There were no parties on campus, and basically the four were left with nothing to do but settle for their own devices. It being almost a year after they had first met, you would never see one without the other three. Even though Rammer and Grace were still in high school, the group of friends always spent time together as Grace was finally allowed to attend her uncle's hockey games even helping him coach periodically._

"_So do you guys wanna see a movie or something?" Buzzy had asked. Always the positive one, he tried to make sure everyone was always happy. "There's this one that just came out and…"_

_Buzzy was cut off by a chorus of "no's" and Robbie running upstairs. They were sitting around in Rammer's basement doing nothing when he came back down with a carton of eggs, a roll of toilet paper, spray paint and silly string, and a mischievous grin all over his face. The group immediately took the hint and exchanged dangerous grins with one another. This would be fun._

_Less than an hour later, the foursome met up in the wooded area behind Robbie's house. They were all fashioned in black attire as to remain unseen by their unsuspecting victims who would have the exterior of their houses redecorated very soon. They were all crouched down and discussing who's houses they would hit and how hard. Robbie and Rammer were wearing backpacks with all of their supplies, and Grace and Buzzy were trying their hardest to not laugh._

"_Ok, so how about we just go right up the street and do every house?" Robbie, who was always the over achiever strived in doing more than anyone else, and this was to be no exception. He reveled in this kind of play and was almost floating from excitement._

"_No way, that's too many." Buzzy, being the practical one, always brought Robbie back down to earth. "We don't have enough stuff to do all of that anyways."_

"_Fine then let's just do the row of houses across the street." Buzzy nodded his head and Robbie looked pleased with himself for the suggestion. Starting with the house closest to Rammer's they began their task at hand innocently enough. Robbie was in control of the toilet paper, Rammer the eggs, and Grace and Buzzy the artwork, being given the silly string and spray paint. Unfortunately they had only gotten through about three houses when they saw blinking lights behind them and a tall burly police officer getting out of his car and making his way towards them._

_Without thinking, they had run. As fast as they could away from the house. Dropping their supplies, they sped away as fast as they could, Rammer and Robbie throwing off their backpacks to run faster. They could all hear the man speaking on his radio and then him chasing after them. This was it, Grace had thought. They were going to all go to jail. As she was running, she began to panic, and someone else seeing this grabbed her hand in his. Grace looked down at her hand and then back up to the body it was connected to. It was Rammer. He had always been there for her in times of danger and peril, and although this being a bit extreme, proved to be no exception._

_Jumping over a fence, Buzzy had tripped and yelled for them to go on without him. It was almost comical the way he had said it as if in a movie, with him yelling "Save yourselves!", but at the time none of them were able to laugh it off. They had tried to pull him over the fence, but it was too high and the police officer must have grabbed his legs as he was trying to escape because they felt another force tugging at poor Buzzy. They kept trying to pull him over, but turning around they could see more flashing lights and a second police officer approaching. Once again, they ran._

_The next to be apprehended was Robbie. A police man had come out of no where and just grabbed him. As Grace had watched Robbie get pushed into the same police car as Buzzy, Rammer tugged on her wrist and they kept moving. After running through back yards and jumping many more fences, they entered the wooded area behind Rammer's house and kept running through trees and debris. As they came to a clearing, a police officer grabbed Grace and just like Robbie and Buzzy, she was put into a police car, only with more delicacy than they had used with the two boys before her. Rammer, not wanting her to be alone followed her into the police car willingly with no extra force necessary._

_In the holding cell they were forced into, there were a couple of drunks and a homeless man, who paid them all no mind. The three boys sat on a bench and Grace sat draped across Robbie's lap. Once left alone, the four sat in silence, contemplating their rather unfortunate turn of luck for a while before Grace erupted into fits of giggles. It was no funny situation to be stuck in, but Grace thought of it as the only way to get over something so serious. The boys eventually all came around and began laughing as well, knowing that soon it would probably get a lot worse. Especially when their families found out. It wasn't a very funny situation, but it rose hilarity in them, possibly for the fact that what they did was so stupid, and that they were all together. This would definitely be a story for the grand kids._

_That night, the boys moved onto the floor and allowed Grace the luxury of sleeping on the bench in as much comfort as was allowed. She was no longer worried of what was to come. She had her boys there with her and at the moment nothing else mattered. The other three, were thinking the same thing._

In the morning, they had been awoken by a not so happy Herb along with Rammer, Buzzy, and Robbie's fathers. None were too pleased and had been notified the night before and had apparently come to collect their children. No charges were being filed for their fun the previous night and they were free to go. Well, technically. Grace had been grounded for two months, _not so bad, I can just sneak out_, she had thought, but it turned out she was not grounded for everything, just from spending time with her three best friends, including Rammer; which turned out to be much worse. The boys all had to do extra sprints with Herb on the ice and their fathers were not going very easy on them as well. Rammer was grounded, Buzzy's parents said they were cutting him off for two months, making him fend for himself in money matters, forcing him to take on more hours at his current job in addition to college, and Robbie's father had made him do some extensive community service, by far the worst of the three. One thousand hours of picking up trash at the side of the road was nothing to scoff at.

The fiasco had arisen some positive effects, rather than solely their heinous punishments. They had grown closer as a group and stuck by each other throughout the whole evening. Their bonds became stronger and trust and loyalty were to never be an issue among them. They were tied for life.

**--**

Grace let out a small laugh at the memory. At this sound, Rammer had awoken and after a few attempts at getting up, staggered over to where she was currently sitting, on the bed opposite of the couch Robbie and Buzzy were draped over. Grace smiled as she saw Rammer approach, and leaned into him as he sat beside her. Although her memories with her boys had been great, nothing could compare to the memories she shared with Rammer. He was her best friend and that meant the world to her.

Rammer looked down at Grace whose head was leaning against his chest. Her blue eyes were set on a small patch on the carpet and she was biting her bottom lip, meaning that she was deep in thought, or about to be. Grace loved the feel of being in Rammer's arms. She always felt so protected and loved, like nothing could ever come between them. It was her favorite place in the world. Coming out of her trance-like state, Rammer brushed a loose piece of hair from her face so he could see her more clearly. She smiled up at him and he leaned back, still tired and feeling more than a little hung over. Grace went down with him, and soon she was lying next to him and the soft sounds of his breath floated around in the air. He was already asleep.

It was almost the middle of summer. The only difference in this year from all the others, was that they would not being going back to school after the summer ended, not if her boys made it on the US team they wouldn't be. They would all make it, of that Grace was sure. Nothing official had even been discussed yet, but she knew with her uncle as head coach, he would be giving all three boys a hell of a look. She wondered if they would still perform their end-of-summer ritual at the hockey rink this year. Grace finally drifted back to sleep, memories of the third year from their celebrated tradition playing in her mind. It had been her senior year, so the boys had made it extra special for her and Rammer's final year in high school. That was a good year.

**--**

_Established the year their friendship made its humble beginnings, it was an end-of-summer ritual that, the night before school started the foursome would have a last dinner together, so to speak. It was always at the same place, the hockey arena, and the same time. Midnight._

_Beginning the ritual, Grace had once again, with the help of Rammer snuck out of the Brooks' house successfully and they were now driving down to the university hockey rink. Waiting for them there, would be Buzzy and Robbie with food and beer. Rammer and Grace were bringing their skates and blankets to sit on. Every year right before school began again, the four would head over to the university skating rink, break in, and have an end-of-summer meal together. They had fondly began calling the night "The Last Supper." It was their final night of freedom before a years worth of homework and tests and this was their third year performing the tradition._

_When Rammer and Grace arrived at the rink for their "picnic", Robbie had already picked the lock to the building and him along with Buzzy were waiting patiently on the ground outside the rink, careful to stay hidden in the shadows so as not to be seen. When he saw the car pull up Robbie gave them a wide smile and opened the door to the large building invitingly. Hugs were exchanged, well with Grace, and handshakes and light punches on the shoulder for the boys._

_Once inside, Rammer laid out a blanket on the ice and Grace ran to find a match to light a few candles with, in order to bring the rink out of darkness. Buzzy and Robbie got out the food and spread it over their makeshift dinner table, and when everything was ready they sat down and began eating. The four were in the middle of the ice sitting on a blanket for this year's dinner. Their last supper._

"_So, Gracie how does it feel? Your last year." Robbie had asked the question. He still wasn't sure how she felt about leaving high school just yet, and although he knew she was excited he was worried for her. All of the boys were. She had still been somewhat undecided about whether she would go back to New York for college or stay in Minnesota. She had told him that her father wanted her to attend college at UM, and that was the whole point of her coming and living with her uncle anyways, but Robbie knew she still held strong connections in New York. The boys didn't know if they would be able to survive without her if she left them._

_Grace gave him a 100-watt smile and looked his way. "Oh my God. I'm so excited! I can't wait to graduate and spend more time with you guys." She had given him the statement as she was stuffing a cookie into her mouth, making her words a little cloudy and less comprehendible. "But I still haven't made up my mind about college yet. If I go back to New York, my parents will probably cut me off financially. My dad would be pissed."_

_At hearing the words "New York" Rammer visibly cringed and rushed to hide his remorse about the thought of losing Grace for the next four years. Although he did a good job covering it up from Grace, Robbie and Buzzy both caught the look and watched him skeptically as he began to speak._

"_Wait, you're still thinking about going back to New York for college? I thought you decided to stay here." As Rammer spoke, he tried to hide his anger at her thinking of going anywhere but Minnesota with him, Robbie, and Buzzy._

"_Well, probably but I'm just not sure yet. Why, would you guys miss me?" Grace put on a large grin at her last statement and looked around the group of boys._

"_No way." Rammer was the first to speak up and vocalize his emotions on the current situation. "You get in the way of meeting girls anyways." He looked over at her and she smacked him hard on the shoulder. He gave her a teasing smirk and decided to change his answer. "Nah, you're too fun. We would miss you." The statement was a simple on and sounded playful and unserious, but the three boys all knew how much they would actually miss her if she left. They would be shattered and lost without her. They had known her for a scant three years, but already she had made a huge impact on their lives, coming through like a hurricane, sweeping them up in her impulsive tendencies, loving ways towards "her boys", and her absolute divinity they believe she possessed compared to all others. Indeed to them, she was incomparable._

"_Of course you would. I'm your guys' world." Grace laughed at their denial of her announcement but unbeknownst to her, it was actually their reality. Bored with where the conversation was headed, Grace steered it in another direction. They talked for hours about their past summer experiences and what they planned to do with their next. For them, the end of the summer was like the beginning of a new year. They always liked to leave the past one with a big bang. Grace standing up, wobbling a little with beer in hand, signaled to the rest of the group that it was time for some skating._

_After a few more beers and a lot of skating, Grace, Rammer, Robbie, and Buzzy all laid out the blanket in the middle of the ice once again with every intention of playing a good natured game of truth or dare. They stumbled onto the blanket, a little less sober than before and giggled excitedly at the fun to come._

"_Ok, since I'm the youngest I'm going first." Without waiting for the boys' approval, Grace began asking her assault on Buzzy. "Buzzy truth or dare?"_

_Buzzy looked a little incredulous being the first one to have to choose. Grace always thought of the most painfully truthful truths and humiliating dares out of the four of them. "Umm, how about dare."_

_Grace's face lit up with excitement at the anticipation of Buzzy's ill-fated pick. "Ok Buzzy, I dare you to go outside on campus and ask out the first guy you see, and you have to keep asking guys out until one says 'yes'."_

"_I hate you." Everyone laughed at Buzzy's misfortune and comment, and followed him outside into the quad area to see the dare put into action. If he wanted, he could have backed out from the dare, but the consequences from that would be much worse than asking a man out on a date. Hiding behind a tree, Grace, Rammer, and Robbie tried to stay hidden as Buzzy approached his first victim._

_Buzzy's conversation with the man was muffled but the guy ended up walking away from him with a disgusted look on his face. The second wasn't much better, and neither were the third, fourth, and fifth. At the rate Buzzy was being turned down, it looked as though they would be out there all night. After a few more rejections, Buzzy went back to his friends in a temperamental mood and sporting a black eye. That was from lucky bachelor number six. They gave him a break and headed back to the arena after promising Buzzy they would never tell anyone else about the embarrassing occasion._

_The next to ask was Buzzy, having just somewhat completed his own dare. He turned his attention to Robbie who was sitting across from him with a curious smirk on his face…And so the game commenced._

_Hours later, the four stumbled out of the hockey arena, joking loudly, the two college boys with beers in hand. As Grace headed back to Rammer's car, she felt a hand tugging lightly at her arm. She turned around to see Robbie, although no more sober than the rest of them, having sense enough not to let his two friends drive home drunk._

"_Gracie…You know better. C'mon you guys can stay in one of our rooms tonight." Robbie motioned to himself and Buzzy, while pulling her towards him in an effort to convince her to stay the night. She tried to break his grip, wanting her comfortable bed, in exchange for a hard dorm mattress shared with Robbie or Buzzy._

"_But Robbieee I wanna go hooome." Grace's speaking was a little slurred from her alcohol consumption, but Rammer grabbed her by the waist, pulling her in the direction of the dorms, and eventually carrying her after her attempts at walking were marred by stumbling and inability to continually walk straight. As Rammer carried her up the stairs, he looked at her, noticing for the first time that she had actually fallen asleep in his arms._

The next morning Grace had awoken on top of something warm, which she soon discovered was Rammer. He was holding her with his arms wrapped tightly around her chest and she found that she couldn't move from the position, opting instead to wait until he woke up minutes later. As soon as he saw Grace on top of him, Rammer smiled, slightly drifting back to sleep, but then looked again and quickly let go. They both had massive hang-overs from the night before, which was no help with their first day of school. Although she had been punished for not coming home the night before, and also for being late for her first day of school that year, it was their best celebration, and she loved each and every one of the boys for it.

**--**

Grace came out of her daze to find herself lying next to Rammer. His hands were casually draped across her and she found comfort in knowing that he was there. Looking around the room she saw her boys. They would all be there for her. No matter what.

1. _So Right_ by Dave Matthews Band

**A/N: So, starting next chapter, is going to be the beginning of the Olympic journey for all the boys and it will introduce a lot more of the characters for you, since I know most of you are just dying to hear about all the Boston boys! I pretty much know how the rest of the story's going to go right now, but there are still like two boys I'm really thinking about. Questions? Comments? Concerns? Feel free to review and tell me what you think!**


	5. Beginning of a Dream

**The Greatness You Are**

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING (except Grace and the occasional outside character).

Author's Note: So this is the chapter where the "Miracle" begins. Yay! So these are the try-outs for the Olympic team in this chapter. Ok, at the time of try-outs, Grace and Rammer are both 19 and would be entering their sophomore year at college if it weren't for the Olympics. I'm trying to make this story as interesting as possible and not just going along with the movie line so I'm going to try and put in a lot of the player's relationships with Grace and each other. Sorry this one's so short! Keep reviewing and tell me what you think!

**Thanks so much to all of my reviewers!  
**_Meadow567:_ I'm really glad you like the flashbacks and you can't wait to read more! I'm definitely going to put more flashbacks in for future chapters. Thanks for the great review!  
_B:_ I was so excited after reading your review! I'm so glad you like my story! Haha I'll see what I can do for you about the Grace and Rammer situation for you. ;-) Keep reviewing!

_It's not about what happened in the past,  
__Or what you think might happen in the future.  
__It's about the ride. There is no point in going through all this crap,  
__If you are not going to enjoy the ride.  
__And you know what...  
__When you least expect it something great might come along,  
__Something better than you even planned for. 1_

Waking up from a deep sleep was not one of the things Grace had wanted to do on her peaceful Saturday morning. Herb had given his players the day off, as well as Grace and it would be the first one for her in a while. She had been helping Herb nonstop with try-out preparations as well as practices at the U. Rolling over in her bed, Grace hastily got out of the warm confines of the sheets, yawning loudly and slowly making her way downstairs.

The house was empty except for herself. Herb and Patti had taken Danny and Kelly out to the zoo for the day. Grace thumped downstairs in her tank top and boxer shorts, that actually in truth belonged to Rammer. She had stolen them from him a long time ago, after wearing them one night at his house, having misplaced her clothes for their spontaneous sleeping arrangements at his house one night and had never gotten around to giving them back. In truth, half of Grace's wardrobe actually belonged to Rammer, a mess of forgotten t-shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants that she had never gotten around to returning.

Upon opening the door, Grace was embraced in a bear hug that lasted seconds before its owner released her moving back a step to survey her appearance. It was Rammer. Looking Grace over, he laughed at her grumpy looking expression, but his smile quickly faded, his mouth hanging slightly agape as he surveyed her sleeping attire. His breath caught in his throat seeing her in his clothing. There was just something about when she wore his clothes that made him feel nervous and excited. It was kind of scary thinking of his best friend that way, but Rammer always shrugged off the feeling, reminding himself that she was his best friend, keeping himself in check.

"Hey Gracie, check this out! Look!" Rammer shoved a piece of paper in front of her face, excitedly. She grasped the paper in her hands, realizing that it was a letter. Her eyes growing wide with excitement, Grace couldn't suppress the huge grin that was rapidly forming on her face.

"Rammer! I'm so proud of you!" Grace squealed before jumping into his arms. She was lifted off the ground as Rammer spun her around. After being set down, she looked over Rammer's shoulder to see two more familiar figures approaching.

"Gracie!" Buzzy and Robbie ran up to her waving two papers in their hands, which looked very similar to the one Rammer had shown her previously.

"You guys!" Grace smiled ecstatically as she leapt into the boys' arms screaming in her excitement. "I knew you would all make the team!"

"Well, we technically didn't make the team. We were just invited to try out." Buzzy offered her in response to the exhilaration that shone all over Grace's face.

"Psh, whatever Buzzy. You're all gonna make the team. I know it." Grace looked around at her boys. Their pride was written all over their features, and she was finding it increasingly difficult to restrain her growing feelings of satisfaction for them either. Robbie had a smug look gracing his face, while Buzzy looked excited and Rammer appeared somewhat flustered. "We're all gonna get to go to the Olympics together!"

Now it was the boys who couldn't contain their liveliness. They would all be spending the next nine months of training together. For them, it meant nonstop parties, sleepovers, (well their idea of a sleepover, which was passing out together), and of course they would never go a minute without seeing Grace. Well, if they made the team…

**--**

Carting her luggage proved to be a more difficult task then she had at first made it seem. Struggling under the weight of her three large duffel bags, as well as his own, Rammer fought to keep his balance as Grace sauntered happily along behind him. _Three more gates to go._ Rammer thought as him and his best friend walked through the airport. He was carrying both his and Grace's luggage, which was proving to be an excruciatingly arduous task.

The whole week Rammer had been overflowing with anticipation for the Olympic hockey team try-outs in Colorado Springs. Now, him and Grace were walking to their gate in order to board their plane that would take him and her exactly to where they wanted to be. Herb had flown up a day earlier to set up for the event, and so he had left Grace in Rammer's care. Robbie and Buzzy had taken later flights to spend more time with family and friends. Rammer had taken an earlier flight, pointedly because he didn't need to say goodbye to Grace, which was really the only person he was concerned about, other than his family, who he had already given a heart felt goodbye to.

Looking over his shoulder, and giving a great heave as to not drop everything he was carrying, Rammer saw Grace casually strolling behind him leisurely licking at an ice cream cone. Slowing down to her pace, Rammer bent down and took a gigantic bite out of her ice cream cone. Grace smirked at him.

"Only three more gates to go big guy." Shoving the rest of her ice cream into Rammer's mouth, she picked up her pace to match his, and patted his shoulder with fake reassurance, continuing on ahead.

Once arriving at their designated gate, the two sat down to wait until their flight was called. Grace dramatically fell down into her seat feigning exhaustion.

"Wow I'm so tired after all that walking." She wickedly stole a glance at Rammer who in turn rolled his eyes and muddled her hair with his large hand, which was placed squarely above her head. Laughing and slapping his hand away, Grace rearranged herself to an Indian-style sitting position, while Rammer stared out the window at the incoming air traffic. Their flight would soon be called, and until then, they were just content in being in each others' company.

**--**

The air rushed up at her face as Grace ran on the side of the road, not caring what cars drove by or saw her; just running to relieve stress and get ready for the day. Her cheeks were red, and she was inhaling in short gasps. She had spent almost the entire week sorting through papers for her uncle, who had piled them up in order to make last minute preparations for the Olympic try-outs, which were to begin today. Grace could feel her hair tickling her back, her pony tail swaying loosely behind her. She was currently wearing a pair of work out shorts and a tank top that clung tightly to her midsection. It was a cool, breezy day, but Grace, tired from running felt hot and smothered.

Just as she was about to turn the corner of the street she was running on, she felt a cool trickle of water run down her face and looking up to the sky, saw that it was raining. Beginning as a light drizzle, Grace thought nothing of it and kept going, but within seconds it was pouring and in an instant she was soaked.

"Shit, shit, shit." Grace yelled at no one in particular. She was soaked through and through, the white material of her shirt becoming slightly transparent and her hair in a state of distress. Looking around for a moment, Grace quickly turned and ran in the opposite direction, straight towards the Olympic training center where try-outs were being held. She had not wanted to interfere with the try-outs, but it looked like she would be forced to. Herb had wanted her to be there anyways, her being the manager of the team, but she had wanted to meet the guys under different circumstances, possibly where she was not completely drenched and looking somewhat decent. _This sucks._ Grace thought as she ran sprinted through the parking lot towards the massive building.

Upon her entrance inside the Colorado Springs hockey arena, Grace inspected the building. All in all, it looked nice. Not spectacular, but just plain and ordinary. She looked for something she could put on to cover her chilled form, a discarded shirt, a towel, anything, but there was absolutely nothing. Turning on a dime, Grace decided that she could ask Herb for something to put on. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was still somewhat early in the afternoon. Figuring Herb would be finished with try-outs, she didn't hesitant in running into the seating area of the hockey rink.

**--**

_Bad idea._ Right as Grace began her entrance into the arena, a pack of boys began filing out, pushing past her with disgruntled looks, and after noticing her, giving her looks of curiosity, which soon turned into appreciative stares. Uncomfortable under their watchful eyes, Grace hurried to find her uncle, but once again, upon admittance into the room, saw a look of disproval from Herb and twenty six pairs of eyes glance in her direction. Herb had apparently been talking to the boys, and a glower came over his face as their attention turned from him towards Grace.

Looking around, she noticed a lot of the boys from watching hockey films with Herb and many of the Minnesota boys, three especially, her best friends. He had made her watch old games with each of the players she saw in the room currently, and the twenty six boys in front of her had been on the list her and her uncle had constructed months in advance. Grace looked around and Herb turned back to the team ignoring her. Grace just stood there, still soaking wet in the doorway waiting for Herb to finish. She smiled, once realizing her three best guys made the team. It wasn't final, but it might have as well been.

As she stood watching her uncle wrap up his speech, she felt a towel drop over her head. Taking the towel off her soaking form, Grace looked up and saw Rammer. She mouthed a "thanks" and nodded over to her uncle rolling her eyes. Rammer laughed silently to himself and turned his attention back to his coach. Grace looked at the towel in her hand, noticing it had his initials sloppily scribbled out on the tag. _Gross_, Grace thought to herself, realizing that Rammer probably used this towel to dry himself off after sweating during practice and after games. Nonetheless it was all she had at the moment and so she commenced in trying to dry herself off. _Oh well, I've used other stuff of his that was probably even more disgusting than this. _Grace thought as she rubbed the offending piece of material over her arms and legs.

After her somewhat successful attempt at drying off, a stack of tests was shoved gently into Grace's hands as she tried to move upwards in the stands to locate her uncle.

"Hey, Grace. Would you mind passing these out?" She looked up to see a hopeful Coach Patrick with a large stack of papers in his hands. Grace recognized them as the psychology tests Herb had showed her prior to traveling to Colorado Springs.

"Sure Coach Patrick." The younger coach gave her an appreciative smile as he handed her the remainder of the tests and headed out the doors of the arena. Turning around, Grace was greeted with a large hug from Rammer.

"So Gracie, I made it!" He was beaming. Grace looked at him and couldn't help letting a large grin play across her face. Handing him a test, he kissed her forehead, telling her that he would wait for her outside.

Behind a slew of other Minnesotan boys, resided a clump of Bostonians, content on staying behind and filling the air with idle chit chat. Glancing at the young woman passing out their "homework", many of the boys from Massachusetts, as well as those from the more Nordic regions gawked at her approvingly, ogling her long legs and gorgeous blonde locks.

Glancing over his shoulder before leaving the arena completely, Rammer could see the other hockey players openly gazing at Grace. Halting his footsteps, Rammer stopped and leaned against a wall, deciding that he would rather wait for her inside by the hockey rink rather than outside. One of the boys that dared to look up was met with an angry glare from Rammer, putting a damper on any hopes that this girl was available; clearly she had a boyfriend. That was the consensus most of the boys gathered, after seeing Rammer watching them carefully.

Already bored with passing out the psychology tests, Grace placed the remaining ones on the ground for the boys to pick up and ran to the back of the line to greet Buzzy and Robbie. They were both clearly pleased with how try-outs had gone for the day and each held satisfied grins on their faces. She silently approached them, embracing them each in large hugs and kisses on the cheek.

"Congrats guys. You did awesome." Seeing her boys accomplish this was equivalent to achieving it herself. Grace was so proud of them.

"Thanks babe." Buzzy winked at her playfully before commenting on her state of appearance. "Aww, you didn't need to dress up for us." A large smile spread across his face as Grace laughed at his stupid comment before making one of her own.

"You moron. I got caught in the rain." It was the boys' turn to laugh as they inspected her more carefully.

"Hey us and some of the guys are going down to the bar tonight. You coming?" Robbie looked hopeful while he awaited the answer to his question. No doubt it wouldn't be half as much fun if Grace wasn't going to go.

"C'mon you guys. You know me better than that. Have I ever turned down a bar night?" This statement was received with humorous looks from both Robbie and Buzzy. "I guess I'll just have to break out my fake ID and meet you guys there." She added the last part with a wink, the boys shaking their heads humorously due to her lighthearted tone, remembering days past, where her mischievous behavior had paid its price.

**--**

_The air was warm outside as they waited for admittance into the local club. Robbie and Buzzy glanced around nervously. This was their first time taking Grace and Rammer to this specific bar and both were worried their two younger friends would get carded. Now stepping to the front of the line, Buzzy and Rammer were accepted with ease, neither asked to show ID. Upon Grace's appearance though, the bouncer at the door asked to see her identification._

_Confidently, Grace pulled out her fake ID, handing it to the rather large bouncer without a second thought. He inspected the piece of plastic carefully a few times, glancing up at Grace and testing the card's weight before turning to her and asking her to step aside. A look of sheer panic graced her features as she tried to keep her composure, side stepping away from the line._

_Suddenly, and without thinking, Rammer grabbed the ID out of the bouncer's hand and shoving it into Grace's._

"_Run Gracie, run." Rammer shouted it over the commotion outside the club. Grace, looking at him and hesitating for a moment, was given a shove by Robbie, and she turned to follow him running away from the scene. Police officers swarmed Rammer all at once and he was quickly taken down. That night marked the second night of his stay in a holding cell. It was even worse without his friends._

Grace had stayed with him all night, although not in the holding cell, she was allowed to pull up a chair directly next to him. She had held his hand the entire night, even through sleep and drove him back home the following morning, clearly grateful for how the events had unfolded the previous night. That soon became their first and last fiasco with using fake IDs and they soon opted for sneaking in to bars and clubs. At that moment, Grace had realized how much Rammer loved her, and that they truly were best friends. It was obvious. And she loved him back.

**--**

Snapping out of her thoughts, Grace waved a quick goodbye to the boys and began heading out. Arriving at the entrance of the arena, she found Rammer leaning against the door frame, anxious to leave. Grace linked her arm with his and strolled with him out into the now clear day outside. Leaning against his muscular bicep, Grace muttered three small but distinct words.

"I love you." Smiling at this, Rammer repeated the words back to her as they continued their way through the parking lot, wondrous in anticipation for the events to come.

1. Irving Feffer, from_ Along Came Polly_

**A/N: Well I hope you all liked that chapter! The next one's going to include the bar scene from the movie. Send me your reviews!**


	6. Bar Nights and Boston Boys

**The Greatness You Are**

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING (except Grace and the occasional outside character).

Author's Note: This chapter is the bar scene from the movie. Grace gets to meet more of the guys, especially the ones from Boston. Getting to know the other boys will come in the next chapter. Keep the reviews coming!

**Thanks so much to all of my reviewers!  
**_Steph:_ Thanks so much for your review! I thought it was about time Rammer finally got a story written about him. For my purposes the legal drinking age in my story is 21. I know it didn't change until later, but at the time I began writing that part in my story and it was just easier to keep it that way rather to go back and fix the whole thing. Thanks for reviewing!  
_Killerkeanegirl:_ Thanks for reviewing! It's great to get so many positive reviews! I'm debating whether or not to post my story on the board. What do you think?  
_Meadow567:_ Yeah, I guess I wrote Rammer as being kind of possessive in that way. I definitely agree that it will certainly be difficult for the other guys to get closer to Grace since their already so close. Don't worry, I won't make him too jealous. ;-) Thanks for the review!  
_B:_ Haha we'll see about Rammer and Grace…Thanks for all the great comments on my story, keep 'em coming!  
_Prettypinkcheer5:_ Haha be patient. It's coming…maybe. Lol we'll see. I'm glad you like the idea of Rammer and Gracie together. I hope you'll like the parts I wrote with the Boston boys! It's really fun to write their parts. Thanks for reviewing!  
_Darkdestiney2000:_ I love your story, I hope you update soon! I'm really glad you like the flashbacks. I wish I had friends like Rammer, Buzzy, and Mac too, they're awesome. Thanks for the great review!

_I'll take life as it comes, because  
__I live for the nights I can't remember,  
__With the friends I'll never forget. 1_

The bar was dirty and busy as usual, men bustling in and out of it at all times of the night, sometimes with women attached to their hip, and sometimes too drunk to deviate the difference between night and day. This was one of Grace's favorite places in the world, as undignified and unnatural as it sounded. Her and her boys had had so many fun times at that bar, and she actually considered it special to her, it being their number two hang out spot, second only to Robbie's basement, and occasionally their UM dorm rooms, which were all adjacent to each other.

Her and Rammer had started hanging out there with the hockey team, around their senior year of high school and their traditional celebrations at the bar had followed them up until their freshman year of college, which happened to be the previous year. The bar tenders didn't really care who was coming or going or if you were underage and ID's weren't even considered an issue as long as you were a university student. Plus, they gave discounts to all UM athletes on already cheap booze and a large assortment of shots.

Grace looked up at the neon-lighted sign that hung on the front of the scruffy building. One of the letters was unlit and completely smashed, and had been like that since the first time Grace, Rammer, and the rest of the team had attended the bar. It was actually their fault that it was like that in the first place…

**--**

_She knew she should have stopped a while ago, but with the buzz surrounding her, and the alcohol constantly sending waves of good feelings over her, she couldn't help herself to not take another, and another, and another. Grace had arrived at the bar hours ago with the Minnesota hockey team and now a scant few were left, namely her, Buzzy, Robbie, Rammer, and a couple other boys she didn't know lulling around the area. She had been telling a story, too drunk to get any of it right when Rammer had gently picked her up from her seat and stood her up, a sure sign that everyone else was ready to go._

_As Grace started up, she tripped, and was caught by a strong pair of hands belonging to Rammer before she could make contact with the hard surface of the bar floor. She was stumbling around the place, asking for another drink as she was quickly steered from their table and over to the door. Rammer's hands rested on her waist, ready in case she lurched forward towards the hard ground like she had seconds earlier._

_Stepping outside, Grace received the most violent urge to throw up, and that she did in the bushes outside of the bar. Buzzy walked over to his car and opened the door to the passenger's seat, offering to take her home. Out of the group, he was the only sober one and so he had been given the task of getting them all home safely. Robbie got in on the other side of the car, sitting in the back seat, assuming that Rammer would be over momentarily to take his place next to him in the car._

_On the other side of the parking lot, were Grace and Rammer, him with a half empty beer bottle in his hands, still drinking, and her trying to keep her balance enough to make it to the car. After an excruciating ten minutes and plenty of help from Buzzy, the pair finally made it into the car with their surroundings still spinning around them._

_At last, the four were safe and secure within the confines of Buzzy's car and he began backing out of the parking lot ready to get home and go to sleep._

"_So Gracie, you going home, or back to the dorms with us?" Buzzy wasn't quite sure where to take her, since Herb would be pissed if she came home drunk, but then again he would also be pretty mad if she didn't go back at all. Buzzy thought the situation over, not sure what she would want, or even convinced that she would be able to decide judging by the alcohol-polluted state she was currently in._

"_Buzzzzzyy I, I, I-- wanna go to Ssssscottsss roooooom." Buzzy grimaced at how much she was slurring, and also at her decision to go to then-boyfriend Scott's dorm room. Not the most respectable of people, Grace had met him earlier that year and they had been dating for a couple of months. None of the boys had really approved of him. He was a football player at the U and could be found at a party any night of the week. Not exactly good boyfriend material in their opinions, but Grace adored him and so their relationship commenced._

_Without warning, Rammer in a drunken rage threw the car door open and stormed out violently. Turning around and looking into the back seat, Buzzy gave Robbie a quizzical look and all Robbie was able to respond with was a confused expression while Grace chuckled, unaware of the present state of affairs. Buzzy stopped the car and opened the door, marching straight over to Rammer who was stumbling around the parking lot, seemingly heading back into the bar._

_Hearing another commotion coming from the car, Buzzy turned just in time to see Grace and Robbie attempting to get out of the car, tripping all over each other in the process. Robbie, only more sober than Grace by a scant few drinks, was laughing hysterically at their predicament while Grace wearily staggered over to where he and Rammer had stopped momentarily. Buzzy decided to try and intervene before things got out of hand. He had a few theories on why Rammer had stormed out of the car so suddenly and he resolved to briefly test the waters. Too bad Grace got to him first._

_Running up to him giggling, Grace's approach was to tug his arm away from the bar, leading him back in the direction where they had previously stopped. Rammer shook his arm away from hers' and so the confrontation began._

"_Rammer-er-er, what'ssss wrong?" Buzzy assumed Grace didn't realize how loud she was due to the alcohol, but she was slurring terribly, and even a drunken Robbie knew that. He had fallen out of the car with Grace and was lying on the cool pavement of the parking lot. Buzzy had just taken sight of this so he had left Grace and Rammer alone for a minute to help him back to his feet. Probably not the smartest thing to do._

"_What's wrong!" He looked at Grace in disbelief. "I can't believe you would go to Scott's house right now! You're completely drunk." Rammer was clearly angry at her obvious lack of judgment at the present time, still Grace pressed onward._

"_You can't tellllss meee how to live my life Michaelllll Ramssssseyy." Grace looked him defiantly in the face. She would never back down from a fight, in that sense she was just like Rammer. The boys on his hockey teams were even respectful towards her for that matter. When it came to holding her own against Rammer, Grace was certainly master of her domain._

"_C'mon Gracie you're smarter than that. He could take advantage of you." Rammer's tone held a dangerous edge to it; nonetheless a hint of pleading was vaguely present in his last statement._

_Suddenly, a look of sheer dejection appeared on Grace's lovely face her eyes growing big with wonder and she looked utterly petrified of him. This caused Rammer to wince at his harsh tone, but he needed to stay firm enough and not back down. That was the saddest he had ever seen her. The one time he had ever really gotten irate with her and yelled. And it had truly broken his heart to do that. Taking a tentative glace up at her best friend Grace softly made her reply, sniffling from the tears which were threatening to leak out and run down her face._

"_But, but Rammer. I love him." _

_Jealously coursed through Rammer's body, making him fleetingly sober, if only for a minute. His throat tightened at her words and it felt like he had just been punched in the gut. He couldn't even bring himself to look at her. He was too angry. He didn't even know at what. He just went with his instincts, and he found himself throwing his half-emptied beer bottle at the bar, not caring where it hit or giving it a particular target._

It happened to be that Rammer's beer bottle hit the now unlit letter on the façade of the bar. Following the assault on the bar, the two continued their argument, which left Grace hysterical, Rammer angry and grumpy, and complete silence between the two for weeks afterwards. After the incident Grace found herself heeding Rammer's drunken advice despite her complaints from earlier and chose to sleep in Buzzy's room instead of at Scott's.

Rammer was always there to look out for her, even if his advice was sometimes unwelcome. They had argued many times before, but this had marked the first which had ended in complete chaos and disaster. Rammer had finally given in and apologized, both of their defenses crumbling shortly afterward, driving them away from any arguments since.

**--**

Grace frowned, ok so what if her first memory from their bar wasn't so great. But for all the bad times she had there, there were plenty of good times to fill its spot, reminding her why she loved to go to that particular bar, their bar. Scott was now out of the picture, but that didn't matter anymore because her best friends were not.

Suddenly, a large body pushing her out of the way broke her from her thoughts and as she turned to see what had just stormed out of the bar and pushed past her. In the darkness, the only thing she could make out was that the person was a male with blonde hair and he seemed angry, but at the same time completely sober as he was able to walk straight and keep his balance. Shrugging it off, Grace stepped forward and pushed her way into the bar feeling more than ready for a few rounds of drinks.

Not-so-cautiously stepping over the "threshold" into the bar, there was a dingy aroma floating around in the air. Looking around, Grace located the table of Minnesotan boys, but just as she was about to make her way over to their table, she spotted some other hockey players off to the side that caught her eye as well. Sitting on a bar stool and ordering her first drink of the night, Grace surveyed the other table, noticing that most of the guys sitting there were the Boston players from the team. _Interesting,_ she thought as she casually sipped at her beer, while debating whether or not to go over and introduce herself to them.

Finally, curiosity getting the better of her, Grace tossed a couple of singles on the counter for her drink and hopped off her bar stool making her way over to the "Boston" table. She hadn't yet been spotted by any of the Minnesotan players, and glancing over at their table saw them heavily engrossed in what she assumed was their psychology tests. Putting on a friendly smile and closing the gap that lay between her and the Boston boys, Grace confidently strolled up to the three boys ready for a meet-and-greet.

Looking over one of the boy's shoulders Grace could see that they were all intently immersed into their psychology tests, much like the guys at the Minnesotan table. From watching the players' taped games she picked out the only boy she recognized in the Boston setting and chose to tap him on the shoulder lightly to get his attention. Turning around, the player was met with a vibrant pair of blue eyes, a mess of golden hair, and a smile that seemed to be lighting up the whole room.

He looked at her as if she were a goddess, his eyes her looking up and down indiscreetly and finally resting on her seemingly mile long legs while she just stared right back at him. When Grace noticed he wasn't going to say anything as he just continued staring, she decided to cut right to the chase and introduce herself first.

"Hi I'm Grace. Grace Klein." At this point, all of the boys' heads looked up to see her standing in front of them waiting for some introductions. Grace bit her lip waiting in anticipation for a response from any of the boys in front of her. Her eyes were shining brightly. _This girl just exuded mischief_. Finally, as if waking up, the boy she had originally tapped on the shoulder, Dave Silk began to introduce himself.

"Hi. Dave Silk. Silky." He grinned up at her and stood up to shake her hand. Letting go of his hand, Grace looked towards the other boys expectantly as they each got up in turn and introduced themselves as well.

"Mike Eruzione, but everyone calls me Rizzo."

"Ralph Cox…or Coxie."

"Mind if I sit with you guys?" Grace smiled as the boys all nodded their approval and sat down next to Rizzo and across from Dave as Dave began pouring her a glass of beer. The other players watched her with interest and she took this time to note their appearances. Ralph, or Coxie had a mustache gracing his face, which made him look like Mario or Luigi. He had a very flirtatious expression on at the moment and was grinning from ear to ear, looking extremely pleased with himself. Rizzo, another player at the table had a big chest and a friendly sort of disposition, which just made Grace want to smile. He looked incredibly nice and caring, making her think of a teddy bear as he leaned over his test, eyes squinting in genuine focus.

Finally, her eyes centering on Dave, Grace studied his face as he finished pouring her a beer. He had sharp features and was boyishly handsome all over. Grace immediately liked him and he seemed like a nice enough guy, even if he was from Boston.

Silk looked over at Grace. "So you're from around here then?"

"Yeah. Well, originally from New York. I moved in with my uncle and his family about three years ago." When she said she was from New York, Grace held contempt in her voice, so Silk decided not to press further with the subject, although he soon found he wouldn't have even had the chance, even if he had decided to take it, as Grace quickly asked another question. "How 'bout you, you're from Boston right?"

"Born and raised." He said the statement with pride and looked directly at her, searching her face for a visible response. Without giving him one, she turned her attention away from Dave, looking at the other boys at the table.

"What about you guys; where are you from?" She looked sincerely interested in each one of the boys as they gave their answers and she watched them with a sense of wonder.

"Boston." Rizzo said his home town with a touch of satisfaction, just as Silky had before him.

"New Hampshire…I'm neutral, I swear!" After stating the last part, the whole table began laughing.

Handing Grace her drink, Dave attempted to strike up another conversation with the attractive girl now sitting at their table. "So, um why were you at the rink today?" Grace looked up, a little startled that he remembered her from her earlier appearance that afternoon. Her cheeks flushed as she thought about her emergence into the hockey rink while at the Olympic center, but hurried to cover up her embarrassment.

"Well, my uncle. Herb Brooks." She said his name with an emphasis, looking for recognition on the young hockey player's face, when she saw it, she continued. "Yeah and um, I'm the team manager." Grace looked at him, waiting for him to say something in ridicule. She had always been met with harshness from the players Herb coached after they found out a girl would have a place on their hockey team at all. When none came, Grace looked straight up into Silky's face and saw him smiling widely. A confused look came over her features as she looked at him skeptically.

Silky opened his mouth to speak but Coxie beat him to it as he put his two-cents in on the subject. "You mean we're gonna get to spend a whole nine months with an incredibly beautiful girl at our side?" Grace was startled when he began talking to her, unaware that the other guys from the table were even listening to her talking to Dave.

Dave threw Coxie a harsh look, upset that he hadn't been able to shower the girl with lovely compliments first. Grace quickly recovered from her doubt and threw a flattering remark back, of her own.

"And I'll get to spend nine months with three gorgeous men from the north east?" All of the boys blushed at her comment and at once turned their heads back to their tests. After taking a moment to recover, Silky turned back to Grace asking another question.

"So, you live in Minnesota…Why are over here flirting with the enemy." Dave was by far the most flirtatious out of the group, although Coxie was definitely not too far behind. Rolling her eyes in jest, Grace looked directly back at him as she spoke.

"It's my job. I have to do it. I was forced." She tried to give them a disgusted look and keep a straight face as she said it and Silky gave her a pouty look which changed her answer to something more truthful. "Actually, because I wanted to get to know some good-looking Boston boys."

Coxie threw her a hurt look while clearing his throat loudly and she once again changed her response. "Good-looking players." She corrected herself and Coxie reached over throwing his arms around her, hugging her and grinning over Grace's shoulder at Silky who was giving him a disgruntled look in return.

Looking around the table, Grace noticed an empty spot. "So what about your boy O'Callahan. He's from Boston, right?"

Silky gave a light snort and Rizzo tried his hand at explaining the situation. "Yeah, well OC, he left earlier…"

"Oh, I think I saw him. Angry, blonde?" Grace thought back to earlier when she came in the bar. Now she was almost certain the man she had run into was the Jack O'Callahan they were discussing.

"That's him." Silky glanced over at Grace and around the table wondering if she had noticed the put-off mood OC had been in.

As if on cue, Grace asked, "What was he so pissed about?" A chorus of '76 rang up from around the table. Grace looked at each one of the players in disbelief.

"What? '76? That was like three years ago. You can't possibly tell me he's still mad about that?" The players at the table nodded their heads as Grace continued to hold a befuddled look on her face. Dave didn't like long, awkward silences, or tension and this was soon becoming one of those moments.

Looking at Grace, Silky put a small grin on his face and asked her, "Wanna feel my stick?" He added the last part over eagerly and winked suggestively as Grace and the other boys laughed at his comment and the hidden innuendo it implied. He then included, "No really, do you wanna feel my stick.", while holding up his hockey stick that had been carelessly tossed into his bag, him giving no explanation of why it was there in the first place. Grace, when distracted from the subject of '76, completely forgot about the topic all together, instead consumed by Silky's good-humored joke.

His comment began another round of laughs among the group, no one turning to see three more players approach the table.

**--**

Turning around, she could see Rammer and Buzzy approaching. Mark Johnson was trailing loosely behind them, over to where Grace was sitting at the Boston table. As Rammer came up behind Grace, he wrapped his arms protectively around her shoulders and gave her a slight peck on the cheek, garnering glares from a couple of the boys already sitting at the table. Buzzy immediately went up to Rizzo, sitting down next to him and Silky, striking up a conversation.

"Oh hey, do you guys mind if we sit with you?" Buzzy looked around the table, and when he was not met with any disapproval, he motioned for Mark and Rammer to sit down as well. The seven all crowded around the small table, cramming into the booth and Grace jumping onto Rammer's lap allowing both of them a place to sit. Silky looked incredulously at both Rammer and Grace.

"So…how long have you guys been dating?" All of the boys turned their attention to Dave who was staring straight at the pair waiting for their response. Rammer met his face with a frustrated glance and Grace had a confused look on her face that was completely washed away a moment later. Laughing lightly at Silky's mistake, she took her turn to answer the question.

"Me and Rammer? Never! We're just friends." Grace looked around the table, seeing all the boys giving her disbelieving looks. Rolling her eyes, Grace looked down at her drink, sloshing it around a few times before downing it entirely. Sensing her discomfort, and feeling a little guilty for bringing up the subject in the first place, Silk moved onto something entirely different.

"So, how 'bout them North Stars…"

**--**

And so it went, the Boston players associating with a select few of Minnesota's finest for a good portion of the night. Grace was the spark that brought the two groups together, if only for a short time. In the meager amount of time, the boys who didn't already know her, came to appreciate and love Grace. In one night, a divided team came together, pulled together by one person. If only for a short while.

For the rest of the night, Grace moved from table-to-table getting to know the guys better. By the end of the evening, most of the boys were once again split up, leaving a large gap between the Minnesota and Boston tables. _This is going to take a lot of work_, Grace thought to herself, letting it go for a moment, and making her way carefully from one group to the other.

**--**

At the end of the night, Grace was surprisingly sober, but was still offered more than enough rides home to get her back safely. Taking Silky up on his offer, he helped her into the passenger seat of his car, letting her fall soundly asleep both from fatigue and alcohol consumption on his shoulder during their short ride back to the dorms. Upon, their arrival, Silky went to the passenger side door, after gently letting Grace's head rest on the back of the seat, now void from his shoulder.

Opening the door, he picked Grace, who was now peacefully sleeping, up into his arms, her head lulling into his neck, her breathing leaving a tingling sensation all over where it had reached. Carrying her up to her dorm room, which was adjacent to Rammer's; her hair spread out along his shoulders tickling his neck. Fishing out her keys from her back pocket, Silky quietly opened the door allowing him enough room to walk through without waking up the sleeping girl in his arms. Laying her easily onto the bed, he heard the door open again, and saw a shadowy figure making its way toward him.

Emerging from the shadows was Rammer, who stepped directly in front of Silky, towards Grace mumbling a short, "I got it from here.", and completely taking control. Silky was elbowed out of the way and Rammer gently picked Grace up once again and pulling up her covers, then tenderly setting her down in the confines of her warm bed. He looked expectantly toward Silky who took one last look at Grace and left the room.

As Silk left, he could still smell her scent on his shirt. It was intoxicating, and had him going wild. It seemed to be everywhere. Closing the door behind him, he took one last glance back over his shoulder before going back to his room only to be met with an agitated sleep.

After Dave had left, Rammer affectionately kissed Grace on the forehead and he too left the room, only he stopped at the couch, grabbing a blanket and making himself comfortable on the cushy material. That's where he would be for the rest of the night. He never liked Grace to wake up alone and not know what had happened the previous night after passing out or falling asleep. Letting sleep finally take him, Rammer's head was filled with images of a sleeping Grace, leading him into a restless slumber, and only being completely consumed with tiredness when dawn spread its wings over the horizon.

1. _Shock 'N Y'all _by Toby Keith

**A/N: Well I hope you all liked that chapter! I'll probably have the next one up by next week. I'm also probably going to start the romance piece in the next few chapters. Should it be Rammer or someone else? Remember, more of the Minnesotan boys next time! Tell me what you think! Thanks for all the great reviews guys!**


	7. Author's Note

Author's Note: Hey guys. To all my reviewers, I'm sorry that I havent posted in a while. Exams are killing me and I just started studying. Finals are in two weeks and that's probably going to be the next time I'll be able to update. I'll try to make it a nice and long chapter for you guys though. :-) I'm probably going to post another story here soon, I started it as a one-shot but I'm probably going to make it a chapter story. I'll post that really soon, maybe even tonight. Thanks a lot guys, sorry for making you wait.

_Love, Stacey_


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